The American Trial Lawyers Association

We'll kick things off today with some depressing news for those of you who are fans of justice. According to Rahm Emanuel, President Obama's chief of staff, has said unequivocally that there will be absolutely no prosecutions of former Bush Administration officials. This news comes on the heels of the release of the former administration's torture memos, which made most of us believe that prosecutions were just around the corner. But the statement from Obama released with those shocking memos included this sentence: "In releasing these memos, it is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution." Obama has made it clear since he took office that he had no intention of prosecuting the former administration, but some of us were still hopeful. Unfortunately, like Bill Clinton before him, Obama is ready to allow the crimes of the Republicans go unpunished, leaving America with a bruised reputation and no remedies.

And speaking of the leftover problems from the Bush Administration, the sour economy has actually had a positive effect on the military. For years the military has been forced to allow below-average recruits to join, thanks to declining numbers of worthy applicants. But due to the recent economic downturn, the Army is seeing an uptick in what it calls “quality” recruits and has halted the practice of giving recruitment waivers to convicted felons and recent drug offenders. Since the Army started handing out numerous waivers to felons and drug offenders, officials say there has been an increase in drug abuse among soldiers in Iraq and afghanistan. There have also been reports that members of US gangs are signing up for the Army and leaving identifying graffiti in the streets of Iraq. Afghanistan's abundent heroin crops are a particular spot of concern for the Army, as any soldier so inclined could easily procure doses of that and other substances. Hopefully, this surge in recruits is the beginning of a new trend. Studies have shown that when the military allows in people who required waivers, morale goes down, and incidents increase. With a new crop of able recruits, soldiers can once again be sure that the guys watching their backs are capable of keeping them safe, which will keep the rest of us safe as well.


And finally today, a new report shows that the government has consistently overlooked massive amounts of waterway contamination stemming from 271 million pounds of pharmaceuticals that were legally released into waterways. According to an AP investigation, government and industry officials don't know how many pharmaceutical ingredients – like lithium and nitroglycerin – are released into lakes and rivers that feed into drinking water, because they don't track those chemicals as drugs. But the AP found that 22 pharmaceutical compounds do show up in EPA and Food and Drug Administration records. Drugmakers and federal regulators both say that the manufacturing of these kinds of chemicals doesn't impact water quality. However, the investigation revealed that the release of these chemicals is similar to a “don't ask, don't tell” policy, where the government looks the other way, while the pharmaceutical industry dumps chemicals into our water. Studies have shown that exposure to lithium can cause fluid to build up in the lungs, and that the side effects of the drug become more severe when it is exposed to moisture. That sounds like just the thing we want in our water supply.

Labels: Barack Obama, Economy, Farron Cousins, George Bush, Memo, Military, Pharmaceutical, Poison, Prosecution, Rahm Emanuel, Recruit, Torture, Waiver, Water

It looks like the sour job market in America is taking a toll on a group of folks who were once able to get great jobs without any qualifications. I'm speaking of course, of former members of the Bush administration. According to a new report, of the 3,000 former officials currently looking for full-time work, only about 25% of them have been able to find a job. For many, the traditional refuge of conservative think tanks in Washington, D.C. has become a Fort Knox, with almost no positions available, and certainly not for lower-rung Bush officials. Some have been able to find positions at universities, and Condoleezza Rice recently signed a three book deal, but others have not been so lucky. According to the original report in the Wall Street Journal, Washington think tanks aren't interested in hiring more Republicans because Democrats control both Houses of Congress as well as the presidency. Other job seekers are falling victim to Bush's historically low approval ratings, which is something that most employers don't want to be associated with. It only seems fitting that the people involved with the administration would finally become effected by it. This is poetic justice at its finest.


In other news, we all know that we have criminals and swindlers on Wall Street, but running a military charity? No! According to a recent investigation, the largest charity inside the US military has been stockpiling tens of millions of dollars that was supposed to be used to help put returning soldiers back on their feet. Between 2003 and 2007 Army Emergency Relief swelled into a $345 million charity titan, while the military families it was designed to help, dealt with long deployments and soaring home foreclosure rates. According to tax records, during those years, the charity hoarded $117 million in its reserves with spending just $64 million on direct aid. The charity was founded in 1942 to help ease cash emergencies of active-duty soldiers and retirees, and provides college scholarships for their families. It also helps cover mortgage payments, food, car repairs, medical bills among other things. It's also been revealed that instead of giving money away, the charity lent out 91% of its emergency funds between 2003 and 2007. AER executives have defended the fund saying they need to keep sizable reserves to be ready for future catastrophes. If the two current wars we have going on right now don't count as a catastrophe, I'm not sure what would.


And finally today, in a case of life imitating art, a man from Australia has been arrested for smuggling…Snakes on a plane. The man has been charged with attempting to smuggle 44 native lizards and snakes on a flight out of Australia. The snakes have been identified as three black headed pythons and an albino carpet python, which is an extremely endangered species with numbers estimated to be as low as 100, and worth as much as 20 thousand dollars. Customs officials estimate that the total worth of the man's reptile haul was close to $200,000 dollars. The man was set to board a flight to Bangkok, but the snakes and lizards were detected by luggage x-rays before he could get on his flight. While wildlife smuggling is a serious crime, the fact that the man actually tried to bring snakes on a plane has to make you laugh, at least a little.

Labels: Afghanistan, Bush Administration, Charity, Economy, Farron Cousins, Fraud, Iraq, Military, Movie, Quote, Samuel L Jackson, Snakes on a Plane, The Daily Left, unemployment